#theres no electric lights in mlp so i called it candlelight orchestra instead of electric light orchestra

[brideofdiscord-rewritten]

Bride of Discord chapter 11: The Direction

Another moon passed. Once again the sun rose. More twinkling stars. More shifting clouds. Another arrival of Orange-pink breaths reminding fluttershy of her triumph with her Choice. Another gale of wind she would never get to feel.

The sun was shining on the forest with every inch of grateful warmth, in The midst of an incoming winter. Of course, her kindness would never go unnoticed, as Kimono made her way to the force field Discord put up and around. She gave way to raps on the material.

Discord zoomed over in an instant, startling Kimono away from her spot.

"I knew you were gonna do that, and yet I flinched."

Kimono shouted something from beyond the field. Discord cupped his ear.

"What?"

She pounded agitated on the wall. The draconequus chuckled.

"Oh, right."

He snapped his fingers and a hole appeared in the wall, allowing Kimono to slip through.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"So what brings you here, neighbor?" Discord asked cheerfully. "Come to borrow a cup of sugar?"

A cup of sugar materialized in his paw.

"Thank you, but the reason I came by was not for sugar, but for Fluttershy."

He twiddled his fingers. "Oh. You're terribly lucky your territory isn't part of the deal! I'd've had to wage war or something if you came in unannounced from Ponyville!"

"I made sure to check with the Duchess Twilight Sparkle that I could visit. By the by, The forest has seemed more lively as of late. Pray tell, where is Fluttershy?"

"Oh, yeah! She's in the garden. I've been following your friend's advice, you see? I made her a garden, brought all her animal friends, and she hugged me afterwards!" He sighed. "You wouldn't believe how great things have been going! We're even friends! She said so herself! It's not quite what I had expected, but it means I'm one step closer to marrying her! And it's all because I gave her something that wasn't material!"

A laugh from the pony reminded him of her presence. He blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes twinkled.

"Um, I mean… man, is it hot in here or what?"

Thinking quickly, he snapped his fingers and teleported them to the garden. The pegasus was feeding the ducks. Some even had turtle shells, courtesy of Discord.

"Fluttershy!" Discord called.

She turned her head. Her hair was filled with burrs and sticks, feathers that weren't her own adorned her smile.

"You have a visitor."

She blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

Discord stepped aside to reveal the zebra. Even though she and Kimono were not that close, Fluttershy was thrilled to see a familiar face and rushed to embrace her.

"But I don't understand," she said as she pulled away. "I thought I wasn't allowed any visitors."

"Well," Discord said slowly as he tried to come up with an excuse. "Well, Kimono's living area is classified as it's own nation, and the princesses left her land out of the 'stay outta here' agreement because they didn't govern it!"

Kimono nodded and smirked. "It's true! The princesses and duchess can't decide what to do with my land for me. Besides, I have to be let in since I am the keeper of pony history."

"haha! Good stuff. Toodle-oo!"

After he had vanished, Kimono smiled at Fluttershy softly.

"I've never been more exited to be able to witness a firsthand account of such a powerful event! But of course, I'm mainly here to ask about your personal status. Our friends are very curious."

The pegasus gasped. "Are they alright?"

"They worry for you, and I will admit I did too. And this is why I need to know. Does Discord treat you well? I need details."

He sat like a cat and wrote with her fountain pen in her mouth.

"You'd be surprised at how kind he's been!" She gestured to their surroundings. "Look at what he's done!"

"Hmm," Kimono mused. "Does he make you happy?

The skritching and scrawling stopped suddenly as she waited for her answer.

"Oh, yes! You were right. So far I've been happy, except…"

She looked down, her hair falling over her eye. Kimono lifted her chin up.

"Do you feel lonely,?"

"Well," she stammered. "I miss my friends. He won't let me visit them." She sighed. "Because of the deal. I appreciate everything he's done to make me comfortable, but…" She gazed up at the sky. "Sometimes I feel like I'm still his prisoner. There's also the fact that he…"

She trailed off. Kimono raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Fluttershy glanced up at her. "You won't tell any pony?"

"I'll have to write it down eventually. My reviewers will know, but never tell."

She breathed. "I…I think he's in love with me."

She waited for Kimono's reaction, but she did not look the least surprised. This confused her, but Fluttershy had to get all of this off her chest and she hoped Discord was not listening.

"Every night, he asks me if I love him."

"Do you?"

She hesitated. "I always say no. We made a deal. I will not marry him until I say yes. I thought it was just a game at first, but…he's been so gentle, and every time I say no, he looks hurt. And…the way he's so kind me me even when I say no…it doesn't upset me, but…I just…I…"

As she trailed off, Kimono grinned. "It is as we said. A yearn for love is what has led Discord to taking a bride."

She gulped. "I…I suppose I could love him, if he wasn't so…possessive of me." She looked at the zebra in desperation. "You understand, my friends can't know about this! They have enough to worry about! Just tell them I'm alright and that I'm not married yet."

"will do, dear Fluttershy. Tell me everything I'd need to know. Every detail."

An hour went by of just sitting and talking and stretching. Petting fur, roaring water. Little drips and clicks of animals doing nothing in particular. Kimono left and nearly fell off of a cliff.

"NOOOO!!! HOW WILL THIS BE DOCUMENTED?! IM THE ONLY ONE ON THE JOB!"

she was caught by Discord.

"Whoops," he said. "Forgot to tell you about that."

He snapped his fingers and teleported them to the ground. He knelt down and whispered to her.

"Did she say anything about me?"

She smirked. "Can't say. Legally."

"Come on! Can't you at least tell me if she likes me? At least…do you think she does?"

She sighed. "These things take time, dear draconequus. My advice? Love is to watch things love. When the brokenhearted living in the world can agree, our nature is to live out our domain of the free."

"What."

"The ruined lovers unfold each other's wings and fly in opposite directions. An old passage from our history books."

Now he knew how he had made the ponies feel in the labyrinth as she walked off.

Discord lay sleeping on a branch offwhere, listening to his bride-to-be. How tantalizingly his plan danced like candle smoke. He inhaled the char, and felt it coat his sinuses. Had it not been so easy to spew every hymn of his genius scheme, he was sure he'd've never talked to that pony.

Fluttershy tried to convince Angel to eat cilantro.

"Come on, Angel," she begged softly. "Just one little bite?"

The rabbit shook his head violently.

"How about a teeny nibble?"

He shook his head again and kicked the carrot away. Fluttershy glared at him and then opened her eyes as wide as she could, giving him that Stare of hers. Angel was intimidated by it and chewed desperately on the cilantro. He loved it, of course.

"Amazing," Discord murmured.

To think that such a pony with no magic at her disposal could possess such a power, especially one so seemingly innocent! While the Stare scared most creatures, it attracted this one. This small chaotic quality of hers fascinated him, as did everything else about her. He was so close to winning his queen. He just had to step up his game.

"Come on, what can I do for her? Flowers? Chocolates?"

"How about you stop spying on me?"

Discord shrieked in surprise, causing him to fall out of the tree. He looked up to see a cross Fluttershy. She looked at him mischievously. In every way, she also wanted to help him up, wrap him in a blanket and carry him off

"Exactly how much privacy do I actually get?" She asked as her down turned eyes squinted whilst she smiled. The bags under her eyes softened as of late.

The draconequus laughed nervously. "Well, um…"

"I mean, I dot. Wanna be rude... But do you have any hobbies?"

He paused and lifted a brow.

"I dear, im really sorry-"

"Friends want to spend time together right?"

"Then why didn't you say so?

"I…you see…um…" He groaned. "I got nothing."

He waited for her scolding, or whining, or even that Stare, but she laughed instead. He looked up at her in confusion.

"You're not mad about me invading your privacy?"

"Mad?" she said. "Discord, this isn't the first time I've caught you. It's a little disconcerting, but I'm not mad. It's your first time spending any real moments with a pony for so long! Besides, now that you're in the clear, you can help me feed the animals."

"No problem!"

He stood up and readied his fingers, but Fluttershy flew up and pressed her hooves against his paw, shaking her head.

"I want you to feed them from your paw."

He blinked. "You mean…walk right up to them and…expect them not to run away? To accept food from me?" He threw up his hands. "No offense, but count me out!

"Won't you at least give it a try?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not 'one with nature' like you. Those things will run away at the sight of me. They're smart enough to do so." He looked at a corvid near him, staring brainless with it's dumb yapping vacant bird eyes. He summoned a giant green mask with a ghoulish face and scared it off, with a loud "OOGA BOOGA BOOGA." It flew away haphazardly with it's stupid idiot bird body with little dumb hollow bones, but not before pecking his head.

He glanced at her as she placed some acorns in his paw. "Well, I think it's time we changed that, don't you, junkman?"

"junkman?"

"cuz you're always picking scraps!" She laughed, and held her hoof above her muzzle.

She pointed towards a group of squirrels. Discord stared at her, then at the acorns, then at the squirrels, and then at her again. She gestured toward the animals again, sternly narrowing her eyes. He sighed.

"Oh, alright!

The things he did for this pony

Sighing again, he advanced towards the squirrels. "Alright, you little rascals! Lunchtime!"

The critters squeaked as he knelt down to them and they raced into a hole in a tree. Discord glanced back at Fluttershy.

"What did I tell you?"

She giggled as she glided to his side. "You need to be gentler." She took some of the acorns from his paw. "Here, watch me."

Okay! I'll do it, he thought as she floated to the tree. But I won't like it.

"Shhh," she whispered. "It's okay."

At the sound of her voice, the squirrels poked their heads out.

"There's nothing to be scared of. Discord's not going to hurt you." If course, how did she know that for sure?

She then set the acorns down at the tree's base and stepped back. In a few seconds, the squirrels climbed down and stuffed the acorns into their mouths. Some smaller squirrels then appeared and tried to get acorns themselves, but could not get to the pile.

Fluttershy nodded towards Discord and gestured. His head bobbled every which way, so as to say no. She narrowed her eyes and pointed her hoof commandingly at the squirrels. He shook his head again insistently. Fluttershy put her hooves together gently, and pleadingly pouted her soft powder blue puppy dog eyes.

The squirrels stiffened at the sight of him, but did not run away immediately. He stuck out his paw, showing them the acorns inside. They stared at the treats and then at him. Discord furrowed his brows, not if aggravation, no. Moreso, he wanted desperately not to be reject by nature, by a part of him.

Fluttershy put her hoof on his paw and gently pushed downward, signaling for him to set the acorns on the ground. He did so and the squirrels took them and fled.

"There," Discord stated bluntly. "I fed them. May I go now?"

"Oh no you don't, mister," Fluttershy insisted. "There are plenty more animals that need feeding. Please?"

"why? They're not like us, they can't even feel grateful! It's a good feeling!"

"Please, Discord? There's more to them..."

"They only know to be afraid and to be fed! They don't get to feel the beautiful and horrible things we do... why do I want the approval of something so simple?"

"because that's what we are! We're silly little ponies and draconequi, and we make up nature. This isn't what we come from, they are us, and they feel just as much as we do."

...

"I'm not a doctor, goodness no... but I think you just wanna know that it's not in something's nature to hate you."

She lay a hoof on his forearm.

"they feel like us. You feel like we do. I promise."

His bottom lip remained bruised and red as discord fought the growing sting in his throat. His claw outstretched.

She grinned and gave him a handful of birdseed and pointed towards a flock of birds pecking at the ground. Discord gulped and made his attempt. They flew further away with every step he took toward them.

He was about to give up when Fluttershy flew down to him and took a small amount of the seed out of this paw and onto the ground in front of him. One bird pecked at the seed curiously and then flew into Discord's hands to get the rest. The draconequus lightened with every breath, like he dropped a heavy bag.

"See?" she said. "All you have to do is show them they can trust you."

"wack! Totally bogus."

One of the feathery freaks flew off.

"huh. Was it something I said? I think I'm a little too much!"

Fluttershy laughed, which made Discord soften a bit. He then reflected on what had just happened and started laughing himself.

"no no, I don't think you're too much! We're all birds in a way!"

"I looked ridiculous, didn't I?"

She shook her head. "No. It was cute."

He blinked at her. "Cute?"

"Does that offend you?"

"No! It's just that…" He glanced down at his feet. "No pony's called me 'cute' before."

He would never admit this aloud, but he kind of liked it. That'd be the death of him.q

As she forced him to feed the rest of the animals, Discord was beginning to question his pride. Here he was, offering food to fluffy creatures all to please one measly pony? Had he really gone from being the Lord of Chaos to a sappy pushover? These thoughts running through his head and the fluffy critters pawing at him made him want to explode, but one glance at the pegasus' sweet, beautiful face calmed him down every time.

When they were finished, Fluttershy gave Discord a hug, which literally tied his stomach into knots. He had to subtly snap his tail feathers to untie them.

"Thank you, Discord," she said. "You were a big help."

She started to pull away, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her a while longer. Fluttershy blinked up at him.

"Um…you can let go of me now, Discord. Discord?"

"Hmm? Oh, right!" He reluctantly released her. "But first, my dear, you have to pay up."

"yeah! I think we should have silly favors! So no one has a one-up on each other!"

She stared at him and then shrugged. "I suppose that's fair. What do you want me to do?"

Discord thought for a moment and then smiled smugly at her. "How's about a tune?"

Fluttershy stiffened, her wings folding up. "S-Sing?!"

He coiled himself around her. "I simply love the sound of your voice! Music is my favorite language!... besides Yiddish."

"Oh but…I can't sing…"

"Don't be ridiculous! You mind?" Fluttershy shrugged, nodded, and looked off in the distance. "You were magnificent at the gala!" He scratched her throat latch.

"But…not while you're…watching… It feels scarier than an audience."

"Come now, my dear. It's only me." He tilted her head towards him. "Just this once. I'll never ask you again."

She looked away, her hair falling over her eye. "I…I'm not prepared…"

"Take all the time you need, there's no rush!"

"But what song should I…?"

Fluttershy gulped as he leaned toward her.

"There's no need for you to be nervous, Fluttershy. I won't laugh at you."

She inhaled deeply and began to sing, before chuckling anxiously and stopping, nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

"would It help if you had a request? I don't care if you make up words, I just like your voice. And how you get into it."

..."like what?"

"Candlelight orchestra?"

Gulping once more, she sang again. She was startled when backup vocals came from nowhere. She turned to see the birds singing gently, finding where they began on the solfège, the key signature, the cadence.

"You're sailing softly through the sun

In a broken stone age dawn

You fly so high..."

Her wings unfurled once more, her vibrato shook his core like a radiator. She visibly struggled not smiling. Discord watched in awe, his ears taking in that melodious voice of hers, smooth like flan. It overtook his muscles and lulled them to rest. God, why a sound like that could be so alluring to him. In fact, he could not understand why everything about this pony allured him. She was unfamiliar, uncharted territory.

A bold move made by discord, he takes her shoulder. The other arm is slung between them, hung out as an invitation. This invitation would not go untaken. He lifted her hoof over her head and twirled her around, and the rushing air intertwined her eyelashes and skittered them. Her hair flounced around her, it was silken lace around her form like a shawl. He wrapped around her.

"I get a strange magic

Oh, what a strange magic

Oh, it's a strange magic

Got a strange magic

Got a strange magic"

Fluttershy thought back to when he had done this at the Grand Galloping Gala. That dance had been unwarranted; this was a gentle embrace, a celebration of their own lives. This was the all encompassing and horrible consuming of partiality, inclination. Of intimacy and feverish amity.

"You're walking meadows in my mind

Making waves across my time

Oh no, oh no"

As the birds sang the bridge, Discord twirled her, so gentle as to not lose her from his grip, ever again. Fluttershy was getting so dizzy, a fuzzy static dulled her stumble as she floated above everything, atop the clouds amd stars. Surely they were actually floating. Discord caught her in a dip, and just as she feathered above the thick air they let out with every breath, she inhaled water, soaking into every feather.

"I get a strange magic

Oh, what a strange magic

Oh, it's a strange magic

Got a strange magic

Got a strange magic"

She was ensnared in silk, barely dipping her hoof in the clearest liquid crystal below her.

"Oh, I'm never gonna be the same again

Now I've seen the way it's got to end

Sweet dream, sweet dream"

She opened her eyes, meeting his, absentmindedly

"Yeah I got a strange magic

Strange magic..."

The two were locked in each other's gaze for a long while, until Discord slowly brought her up to his eye level. He gently brushed her mane back, so he could get a better look at her face. Before either of them knew it, the distance between them was decreasing as he pulled her nearer to him and they closed their eyes.

Their lips were only inches away when Fluttershy opened her eyes again and realized what was happening. She gently pushed his face away and laughed awkwardly.

"Uh…"

Discord opened his eyes and gave an equally embarrassed laugh.

"Well, um…"

Fluttershy removed his hands from her body and held them out in front of her. "Are we, um…even?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! That was…" He met her eyes again. "Lovely. Music, girl! That's the power of music theory! Amirite?"

They stared at each other awkwardly for a while, until Fluttershy looked down and rubbed her arm.

"I should get to bed... princess Luna has a job for a reason ahah!"

Discord watched her fly away and sighed sadly. That night, the question dare not be uttered by one breath.